Refrigerator.



' M. M. SCHULTZ.

REFRIGERATOR. APPLICATION FILED MN. 2, i914.

Patented July 27, 1915.

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To all whom it may concern:

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Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented Ci n1 2?, Edit) Application died January 26,- 1914. Serial No.814,271.

gm thereof, and it has for one of its objects the provision, inconnection with the refrigerator box and the drip discharge thereof, ofa valve whereby the drip pipe which forms a part of the refrigerator,may be closed before the drip pan is removed. I

The invention has, furthermore, for its object the provision of means,in connection with. such a valve, whereby the latter must be in closedcondition before the drip pan may be removed.

The invention has also for its object the provision of means whereby thevalve will be locked in closed position, andwill thus remain, as long asthe drip pan is not in po sition on the refrigerator.

Further objects of the invention will here inafter appear and beparticularly defined in the claims. v

The invention'has been clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawingsin which similar'characters denote similar parts and in which v Figure 1is a front view of a portion of a refrigerator embodying my invention.Fig. 2, is a transverse section on line 2, 2 of Fig. 1. tions of thedrip valve showing the same in different positions.

Briefly stated, the present invention has for its particular aim toprevent the leak age of drip water from the refrigerator, when the drippan has been removed therefrom for the purpose-of emptying the same,

while atthe same time means are provided whereby the housekeeper isprevented from removing the drip pan from the refrigerator. unless thevalve has first been closed,

and then under ordinaryconditions, the

valve cannot be opened on account of its remaining locked'in closedposition until the drip pan has been again restored to its properposition in the refrigerator, whereupon the valve may again be opened aspermit the issue of drip water into the pan.

Referring to the drawings, 10, i1 denote the front and rear walls of arefrigerator,

Figs. 3 and 4t and 5 are cross sec-- and 12 is one of the side wallsthereof, these walls inclosing the ice chamber C the bot tom of which islined with zinc 13, as usual, and is slightly depressed toward thecenter so that the drip may issue or be discharged through an opening 15provided in the chamber bottom. Attached to the base board 16 of thechamber bottom is a valve casing 17 having at its upper end a tubularnipple 18 which is forced into tight. contact withthe base board 16, andit may be held in position therein in any suitable manner, as forinstance by side flanges 17, as shown in Fig. 3.

Disposed within a tapered bore of the valve casing, is acorrespondingly-shaped plugli) wh ch is cut away, as at 20, to establisha communication between the duct 15 and an outlet pipe or conduit 21which is also formed in said casing and has its fiow-overledg'e 21' sodisposed as to form. a trap for the drip water, so that, therefore, thelatter may be enabled to seal the lower end of the outlet duct 15against the admission of atmosphere into the bottom of the ice chamberC. Furthermore, inasmuch as insome instances the drip opening of therefrigerator may be directly connected with a pipe leading to a sewer, Iprovide an eX- tension 22 on the discharge end of the casing, in whichcase the trapwill also serve to prevent the entrance of sewer gas intothe bottom of the ice chamber, as will be readily-understood,

The water issuing from the drip spout 22 falls into a drip pan shownherein as a drawer 23, the side and rear walls of which are providednear the -upper margins with extensions or flanges 2% so arranged thatthe drawer 23 may be pulled out toward the front of the refrigerator bya handle H and also so that when said drawer is in place, said flangeswill form tight joints with the casing of the refrigerator and thusprevent drip water from dripping onto the floor, this construction beingparticularly advantageous in cases where the refrigerator, as a whole,is of the portable type, in which instance the movement of therefrigerator may cause the water in the drip pan to slop. In order toprevent this body-movement of the water" to a more or less extent,baffles 25 may as provided in the pan, as desired.

The plug 19 of the valve is operable from the front of the refrigeratorby virtue or a rod or stem 26 secured to thelplug incany suitable mannerand having eiacured to its front end a handle 27, the latter beingprovided with a flange 28 which, when the valve is in the position shownin Fig. 2, will overlap the front face of the front wall 29 of the drippan. By ret'prr ing to Fig. 1, it will be noted that the flange 28 iscut away, as at 28, so that w 'en said handle is rotated for 180 degreessa d drawer can then be removed by pulling the same forwardly, it beingunderstodd that this 180 degree rotation of the handle 27 will-result'inrotating the valve plug 19 into the position shown in Fig. 4 where itwill be noted thatthe duct 15 is closed, while the trap conduit 21 is inopen communication with the aperture 30 preferably in vertical alinementwith the duct'15 above mentioned. It will therefore be understood that,when the valve plug 19 is in the position. shown in Fig. 4, all thewater contained within the trap 21 may find an exit through saidaperture 30 into the drip pan, while at the same time further dischargefrom the ice chamber through the duct 15 is stopped. It will also beunderstood that if the handle 28 should be turned at right angles tobring the plug into the position shown in Fig. 5, a direct communicationwill be established between the duct 15 and the discharge aperture 30,so that any loose matter, such as is frequently found adhering to theice and finding a lodging place within the plug or the casing, can bereadily displaced or removed, as for instance by means of a piece ofwire suchas is indicated at w in Fig. 5. v

Means are provided whereby the valve plug 19 may be locked in theposition shown in Fig. 4 whenever the drip pan is not'in proper positionon the refrigerator, these means preferably comprising a lock plunger 31having a collar 32 and slidable in a re cess 33 provided therefor in therefrigerator casing. A back plate 34 secured to the casing may serve toguide said plunger for longitudinal movement and at the same time act asan abutment for a spring 35 interposed between it and the collar 32 fornormally projecting said plunger 31 forwardly and into engagement withthe recess 36 of the flange 28, when the latterhas been turned to bringsaid recess into alinement with said plunger, it being remembered thatat such. time the valve plug 19 is closed. v

As shown in Fig. 2, the front wall 29 of the drip pan extends upwardlyfar enough so as, to be within the path of the collar 32 of the plunger,so that consequently, when the drawer is closed, the plunger 31 willhave been pushed back far enough to withdraw the point 31 of the plungerout of the recess 36 and in fact eave the flange 28 entirely freetherefrom. If desired, a wearingplate 37 may be secured to the 1. Thecombination with a refrigerator. having an ice chamber provided with adis-- charge opening, of a drip pan carried by said refrigerator andmovable thereln, am-

tatable plug valve controlling the passage of liquid from said icechamber into said pan, means for rotating said valve, and means adaptedto lock said valve against opening rotation by the movement of the drippan out of its normal position, and to unlock said valve by thereinstatement of said pan, into its normal position.

2. The combination with a refrigerator having an ice chamber providedwith a discharge opening, of a drip pan carried by said refrigerator andmovable therein, a

valve controlling the passage of liquid from said ice chamber into saidpan, a device for operating said valve, and a spring-pressed plungercoiiperative with said. device for locking the same againstvalve-opening movement by the movement of the drip pan out of its normalposition, and for automatically unlocking said device by thereinstatement of the drip pan into its normal position.

3. The combination with a refrigerator having an ice chamber providedwith a discharge opening, of a drip pan carried by said refrigerator andmovable therein, a valve for controlling the passage of liquid from saidice chamber into said pan, 2. device for operating said valve, aspring-operated plunger codperative with said device for locking saiddevice against valve-opening movement by the movement of the drip panout of its normal position, and means carried by the front wall of saiddrip pan for retracting said plunger during the end of the closingmovement of the drip pan.

charge opening, a plug rotatable in said valve casing and adapted foropening and closing said discharge opening, a rod extending forwardlyfrom said plug and having a flan e'd handle, a drip pan carried by andmova le in said refrigerator and having its its, front wall overlappedby said flange when'in proper position, a portion of said flange beingcut avlay and adapted to clear .the front Wall of'said drip pan when thevalve is in closed position.

5. The combination with a refrigerator comprising an. ice chamber havinga discharge opening, of a drip pan carried by and movable in saidrefrigerator, a valve comprising a casing connected with said dischargeopening, a plug rotatable in saii valve casing and adapted for openingan closing said discharge opening, a rod extending forwardly from saidplug and having a flanged handle, a drip pan carried by and movable insaid refrigerator and having its front wall overlapped by said flangeWhen in proper position, a portion of said flange being cut away andadapted to clear; the front Wall of said drip pan when the valve is inclosed position, and means carried by'sa-id refrigerator for lockingsaid flange against valveo pening movement upon the movement of the drippan out of its normalposition. v

6. The combination With a refrigerator comprising an ice. chamber havinga discharge opening, of a drip pan carried by and movable in saidrefrigerator, a valve comprising a casing connected with said dischargeopening, a plug rotatable in said valve casing and adapted for openingand 3e ing its front Wall overlapped by said flange when in properposition, a portion of said flange being cut away and adapted to clear.the front wall of said drip pan 'When the valve is in closed position,and a spring-actuated plunger carried by'said refrigerator 40 forlocking said flange against valve-openmg movement upon the movement ofthe drip pan out of its normal position.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of twp Witnesses.

MAX SCHULTZ.

Witnesses CHAS. F. SCHMELZ, H. D. MACDONALD.

